Most of my students are afraid of bacteria. They hear in the news how various types of bacterial infections are causing daily doses of death and disease. But…we also need to remember how important bacteria are to our global health and well being. We know that bacteria help recycle plant and animal matter. Oil eating bacteria are being put to work at helping clean up the oil spill in the Gulf. Probiotics are proving to be great examples of how keeping our commensals healthy keeps our gut healthy. Contact with everyday bacteria can keep you from developing allergies and asthma.
And on top of all that goodness, recent research presented at the ASM (American Society for Microbiology) meeting in San Diego is telling us that some bacteria can actually MAKE YOU SMART and HAPPY! Really. Not all bacteria, but a specific common soil bacteria found everywhere, called Mycobacterium vaccae.
In 2007, scientists demonstrated that this bacterium, when used as a vaccine, can have effects on humans that are similar to those seen with antidepressants (by increasing seratonin levels in the brain). The current study (in which mice were fed these bacteria) demonstrated that the mice eating M vaccae learned faster and were less anxious than controls not receiving the bacteria. If the mice stopped receiving the bacteria they lost the edge they had gained on the control animals.
It is interesting to think of people taking pills filled with bacteria daily to get this effect. But you have access to this breaking science right now. This your prescription: Go outside and get those hands dirty, and play in the mud!